Okay so I really want to make this quilt for a friend of mine but I've never quilted before and my applique experience is sketchy. Frankly I'd describe my sewing skill as "Enthusiastic Beginner". But on the other hand, I tend to stay interested longer if it's a challenge.

So my first question is, for about a Queen size quilt (yes I'm crazy shhh) how much fabric/batting would I need?

Secondly, I've read some articles/tutorials etc and do you think it would be possible to do this quilt without turning? So just fusing the pieces on and zigzagging the edges? Did you do the red pieces first and then the black pieces on top of them?

Also, once you've managed to applique the patches onto the front and then you sandwich your backing and your batting and your front, how do you decide where to stitch for the "quilting"?

And what did you use for the edges?

Oh oh and what paint did you use for the back? Will normal acrylic do, do you think?

And then lastly, I have a very very old machine that I inherited from my gran, and it has a lot of... squiggly feet. Is this a quilting foot?

Okay so I really want to make this quilt for a friend of mine but I've never quilted before and my applique experience is sketchy. Frankly I'd describe my sewing skill as "Enthusiastic Beginner". But on the other hand, I tend to stay interested longer if it's a challenge.

So my first question is, for about a Queen size quilt (yes I'm crazy shhh) how much fabric/batting would I need?

Secondly, I've read some articles/tutorials etc and do you think it would be possible to do this quilt without turning? So just fusing the pieces on and zigzagging the edges? Did you do the red pieces first and then the black pieces on top of them?

Also, once you've managed to applique the patches onto the front and then you sandwich your backing and your batting and your front, how do you decide where to stitch for the "quilting"?

And what did you use for the edges?

Oh oh and what paint did you use for the back? Will normal acrylic do, do you think?

And then lastly, I have a very very old machine that I inherited from my gran, and it has a lot of... squiggly feet. Is this a quilting foot? http://i.ebayimg.com/19/!B65E!n!B2k~$(KGrHqEOKjUEyWuqB2uoBMyl!(VkEw~~-1_35.JPG

You can get batting by the yard or in prepackaged cuts (Queen Size being one variety available). A 'standard' Queen Size quilt/comforter is 90"x90". This apparently varies by country, however. http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingskills/a/blanket_sizes.htm Also, consider the proportions of your pattern. Or in this case, the image. It is rectangular, longer in length than width. However, A queen size bed and blankets made for them tend to be closer to a Square. You can add borders, etc. to compensate. Figuring out yardage for Fabric is a major part of planning your quilt. Sorry, I'm not doing that work for you Lap size was easy, I just made sure I had enough of each fabric to cover the quilt top. Plus the borders, backing, binding. I had extra. And if you're buying in the quantity for a Queen size, you might want to draft up your pieces and calculate yardage more precisely so you don't have to buy so much.

Applique Technique is up to you, what you feel comfortable with. I'm crazy OCD, so I don't like the iron-on and satin stitch around the edge method. Anything looser than a satin-stitch will not hold the pieces down on a long-term/high usage basis and they will fray along the edges. Plus, it's awkward, time consuming, and for me, I'm not at the level to get a smooth line whilst satin-stitching (you have to pay careful attention to needle placement when turning, etc.) My pieces are not layered (they fit together like a puzzle). Although that may be easier. I didn't want some pieces sticking out (higher above quilt surface) more than others. And if you do iron-on, it may become too thick too sew through multiple layers. Which brings me to the other reason I opted not to iron-on applique. Vast amounts of the quilt is the applique. Good quality adhesive will be thick, and the quilt will be awkwardly stiff.

How I was taught, the standard guide for quilting is that you should not be able to randomly place your hand down on the quilt without covering quilting stitches. That is to say, no more than five inch gaps between quilting lines. My lap-size was easy, since the pieces were all around or narrower than five-six inches, so simply 'stitching in the ditch' around the edges of the pieces was ample quilting. In the white space (And I think the black hair pieces), I did a contour sort of freehand thing, following the shapes of the pieces. There are those that don't 'quilt' their quilts at all, as well, and opt to place 'ties' or buttons periodically to hold the layers together.

I bind my quilts (probably because that's the way my mother does it, and I learned from her). That means, I sandwich all the layers, do the quilting (which can cause layers to shift), trim the edges all even and straight, sew strips to the edges like piecing a border (only doubled, so that there is a folded edge), press to the outside, turn the folded edge to the back and hand sew the binding there. I miter corners by hand, because continuous binding tends to round them. This isn't how I do it, precisely, but it might work: http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HB_QuiltBinding.pdf. Also, some people will place their backing over the quilt top (with batting beneath top), right sides together and sew up the edges all except enough to turn the entirety of the quilt through, and then close the hole by hand. No binding necessary, but when you quilt, all the shifting fabric has nowhere to go. I don't like the idea of the puckers that could occur.

I prefer the specifically designated 'fabric' paints. Or 'So-Soft' I believe is the Tulip brand line. These are acrylic paints designed for fabrics, in that they are not only permanent, but aren't stiff like you get with regular acrylic craft paints applied to fabric.

I suppose there's such a thing as a 'quilting foot' but I've always just used the standard sewing machine presser foot when quilting.